Traverse device



P. D. EMERSON TRAVERSE DEVICE Dec. 10, 1963 Filed Nov. 29. 1961INVENTOR. PAUL D. EMERSON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,113,736TRAVERE DEVICE Paul D. Emerson, Pensacola, Fla, assignor, by mesneassignments, to Monsanto Chemical Company, a orporation of DelawareFiled Nov. 29, 1961, Ser. No. 155,641 4 Claims. (Cl. 24-2-43) Thisinvention relates to Winding apparatus of the kind including traversedevices and of the type generally employed in the textile industry towind filaments and yarns on bobbins, pirns, tubes, and the like to formyarn packages. More particularly, this invention relates to an improvedtraverse device having a multiple arrangement of angularly driven meansadapted to provide smooth and unstressed engagement and disengagement asWell as rapid traversing of a moving yarn being Wound on a yarn takeupdevice at high winding speeds.

In the textile industry, and particularly in the spinning, winding, andreeling arts, there is a continual endeavor to provide high speedtraverse devices possessing satisfactory performance characteristics.Various types of traverse devic s of pneumatic, electrical, andmechanical construction are in general use. One group of suggestedmechanical traverse arrangements uses a pair of oppositely drivenendless conveying means such as belts, straps, and chains having spacedpegs mounted thereon, for traversing yarn across the face of a bobbin.These known endless belt traverse devices operate by bringing the pegsinto engagement with the yarn at ri ht angles to the direction ofmovement of the yarn. The rapid abrupt pick-up or" the yarn by the pegstraveling at high speeds transmits a vibratory wave or shock to the yarnwhich disadvantageousiy allects the uniformity of the winding of thepackages.

it is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improvedtraverse device designed to operate at high speeds. Another object ofthe present invention is to provide an improved traverse deviceemploying a multiple arrangement of angularly driven means adapted topositively control the traversing action of a yarn moving to a take-updevice with a minimum of stress being applied to the yarn to reverse itslinear path. Another object is to provide an improved traverse devicesimple in construction, utilizing a pair of inclined transmission beltscarrying spaced guide means which are adapted to smoothly engage withand to disengage from a yarn while the yarn and guide means are movingin substantially the same direction. A still further object is toprovide a traverse device adapted to prevent ribboning of the yarn on apackage.

According to the invention an improved traverse device of the typeadapted to be interposed in the path of a yarn moving from a source ofyarn supply to a take-up device is provided. The improved traversedevice en bodying the invention comprises, in general, a pair ofcomplementary endless belts arranged to be driven by power means. Theendless belts are mounted side-byside in angular relation so that theyare separated at a greater distance from each other at one end thereofthan at the opposite end. A plurality of guide members are carried inspaced relation on each of the belts and are arranged in staggeredrelation therebetween.

The yarn is normally laced so that it moves from the source of yarnsupply to the yarn take-up device in a path that extends between thepair of endless belts. The guide members are adapted to engage the yarnat the converging ends of the belts and to operatively displace the yarnin zig-zag manner so as to widen the lateral displacement of the yarnbetween the belts while the yarn travels to the diverging ends of thebelts. The guide members are then each smoothly disengaged from the yarnfor applying the yarn in reversible layers on a take-up bobbin.

Only small guide forces are applied to the yarn in its travel betweenthe belts and the yarn is engaged and disengaged with a minimum ofstress and interference. The yarn is under positive control before theyarn reaches the end or" a stroke across the bobbin. The exchange ofcontrol from one guide member on one belt to another on the oppositebelt, at the point of yarn reversal, is accomplished without the usualsequence of engagementdisengagement of the guide members at the point ofreversal on a bobbin, characteristic of prior devices. The yarn istraversed by a uniform motion in both directions without stressapplication. The reversal of the yarn at the end of a stroke isinstantaneous thus minimizing the dwell factor.

By arranging the guide members at varying intervals on the belts, theyarn is Wound on the bobbins without socalled ribboning ellect.

in the accompanying drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a view showing the improved traverse device embodying theinvention in elevation, with parts broken away for clarity reasons, andalso schematically showing the improved traverse device associated withconventional high speed winding apparatus.

FIGURE 2 is a schematic view illustrating a preferred mode or" operationof the improved traverse device.

FIGURE 3 is an elevation view showing the construction of the hooked endof a guide finger 19.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view showing the construction of the hooked end ofthe guide finger illustrated in the preceding view.

Like components in each of the figures in the drawing are designated bylike reference numerals.

deferring to the drawing (PEG. 1), the improved tmverse device 1embodying the invention is shown in its operative position interposedbetween two-stage yarn drawing equipment and a take-up device. The yarn2 is spun from a spinneret 3, moves through a convergence guide, and isthereafter wound around two sets of draw rolls 4 and separator rolls 5before being delivered to traverse device 1 and a bobbin 6 of thetake-up device. The yarn is drawn by operating draw rolls 4- atdifferent peripheral rates of speed and at different speeds than therate of extrusion of the filaments from \spinneret 3. Bobbin 6 issurface driven by a drum 7 rotated by power means 8 operativelyconnected to drum 7 by conventional drive means 9.

Traverse device 1 comprises a framework having a pair of generallyupright spaced beam members, lb and lit. Beams 1t) and 11 are positionedin side-by-side relation and are inclined so that they converge at theirupper ends and diverge at their lower ends.

At each inner end of each beam, M and 11, there is a pulley 12 mountedwithin a respective bracket 13 secured to beams 10 and 11.. Thecomplementary pair of pulleys 12 located at the upper converging ends ofthe beams are spaced closer to each other than are the pair ofcomplementary pulleys at the lower diverging ends of the beams. Eachpulley 12 on a respective beam is positioned so that a vertical plane,extending perpendicularly to the axis of one of the pulleys and passingcentrally through its face, also passes centrally through the face ofthe other pulley it; on the corresponding beam to permit proper mountingand alignment of a belt on corresponding pulleys 12. The pair of pulleys12 at the lower end of beams it? and 11, as shown in the drawing, areeach fixedly connected to a respective shaft 14. Shafts 14 extendinwardly of the belts and are interconnected by a universal or flexiblejoint 15 of common construction. One of the shafts 14 is operativelyconnected to a motor 16 by means of a belt 17.

Endless straps or belts 18 are laced about a corresponding pair ofpulleys on each beam, it} and it. Belts 18 are positioned in spacedside-by-side relation and in a generally upright position with the upperends of the belts converging and the lower ends diverging, as in thecase of beams 1i) and 11.

Each of the belts 18 has a plurality of spaced guide fingers 19 mountedon the outer periphery thereof and fastened thereto by suitablefastening means, rivets or the like. The guide fingers 1 9 on one of thebelts 18 are positioned in staggered relation to the guide fingers 159on the opposite belt 118. Each of the guide fingers 19 projects into thespace between the belts and each has an upturned or hooked free end 2bwhich normally engages the yarn.

A fixed pigtail guide 21 is secured at one end of an arm 22 fastened atits opposite end to one of the beams. Pigtail guide 21 is positionedabove and between the upper ends of beams 1b and 11.

Pulleys 12, at the bottom or diverging ends of the beams, are spaced sothat bobbin 6 may be positioned closely below and between the pulleys.

The bobbin 6 is shown in FIG. 1 positioned below and between the beltsl8 primarily to permit illustration of the various components of theimproved traverse device 1. lthough the device 1 is operable as shown inFIG. 1, the desired and preferred arrangement of bobbin 6 in relation tothe belts 13 and guide fingers l9 thereon is shown in FIG. 2.

In the preferred arrangement, bobbin 6 is positioned between and forwardof the belts 13 at the diverging ends thereof. The belts 18 are mountedon the pulleys 12 in a generally upright position so that the frontsides of the belts 18, shown nearest to bobbin 6 in FlG. 2, aretraveling in a downward course and tangentially to the peripheralsurface of the yarn being wound on bobbin 6. The point at which eachguide finger 19 begins to change direction of its downward travel iswithin a horizontal plane 23 extending through the axis of bobbin 6.

Normally, the yarn extends from the draw and separator rolls 4 and 5,respectively, to the pigtail guide 21. From guide 23, the yarn isforwarded to the nearest guide finger 19 on the front side of the belts118, as viewed in the drawing, and is positioned within the hooked end2'9 of the guide finger. The yarn is then laced in Zig-Zag pattern,alternately, from the uppermost guide finger 19 on one of the beltsdownwardly to the next succeeding guide finger 19 on the opposite belt,and so forth down to the lowermost guide finger 19 on the belts 13, theyarn being positioned in each case in the hooked ends of each guidefinger. The angle of the yarn extending from one guide finger 19 on onebelt to the other guide finger 19 on the opposite belt increasesprogressively as does the lateral displacement of the yarn while itmoves downwardly from the upper to the lower end of the traverse device.From the lowermost guide finger 19 the yarn is wound onto bobbin 6.

In operation, (FIGS. 1 and 2), while yarn 2. is being spun fromspinneret 3i and is being drawn by draw rolls 4, power means 8operatively drives bobbin 6 via drum 7 for taking up the yarn, and motor16 operatively drives the pair of complementary belts 18 in acounterclockwise direction. As each guide finger l9 reverses its upwardtravel from the back side of the belts at the converging or upper endsof belts 18 and begins its downward travel at the front side of thebelts, as viewed in the drawing, each guide finger 19 adjacent itshooked end thereof smoothly engages yarn 2. The yarn is displaced orpulled laterally by each guide finger 19 as it travels to its lowermostposition on the front side of the belts. Because of the staggeredarrangement of the guide fingers on the belts and the angulararrangement of the belts, the guide fingers 19 cooperate therebetween toestablish a. zigzag or tortuous course of travel of the yarn with aprogressively widening lateral displacement as the yarn moves to bobbin6.

As each guide finger E9 on a respective belt reaches its lowest point ofits straight-lute downward travel (the point of tangency in FIG. 2), thecorresponding belt on which it is mounted revolves around pulley 12 andcarries the guide finger away from the path of the yarn. The point atwhich the guide finger is disengaged from the yarn defines the end of astroke of the yarn traversed across the bobbin. As one guide finger onone belt is disengaged from the yarn, the next succeeding or secondguide finger on the opposite belt serves to apply a tension on the yarnand to guide the yarn uniformly across the face of bobbin whiletraveling to its lowest position on its belt. When the second guidefinger is disengaged from the yarn, the yarn is traversed in theopposite direction in the same manner by the next succeeding or thirdguide finger on the opposite belt traveling in a downward direction.Thus, the yarn is rapidly traversed back and forth across bobbin 6whereby a uniformly wound package is formed thereon.

FIG. 3 shows one form of construction of the hooked end portion of eachguide finger 1%. The surfaces are smooth to permit the yarn to slide offthe guide fingers when they begin to disengage from the yarn.Preferably, the hooked end 2%} on each guide finger is bent so as toform an acute angle in relation to the body of the guide finger.

The guide fingers 1% may be spaced equally apart on each belt with eachguide finger on one belt being centrally positioned between a pair ofguide fingers 19 on the other belt. However, if the layers of yarn beingwound on the bobbin 6 begin to fall one on top of the other insuperimposed manner such that so-called ribboning of the yarn shouldoccur, then the guide fingers on the belts may be repositioned toslightly vary the distance between successive guide fingers. Byrepositioning the guide fingers on the belts, the traverse strokes areoff-set, and the yarn is not wound on the bobbin in the same repetitivestroke. Thus, each successive layer of yarn is wound on the bobbin in adifferent path from the previous layer and ribboning is controlled.Ribboning" results in yarn packages being non-uniformly wound and istherefore an undesirable feature that is disadvantageous in further yarnprocessing.

The improved traverse device provides uniform displacement of the yarnin opposite directions with an instantaneous reversal of the yarn at theend of each stroke. The entire operation is smooth, unstressed, anduninterrupted. In application, device ll permits high speed operationand produces uniformly wound yarn packages devoid of so-called bulgeswhich form in a package which 18 not uniformly wound.

Although the present embodiment of the invention has been describedwherein the traverse device is arranged 1n a generally upright position,it will be understood that the traverse device need not necessarily beoperated in the manner described and that changes and variations may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Yarn Winding and traversing apparatus comprising in combination: L

(a) a source of yarn supply;

(b) a pair of endless conveyor means rotatably supported in spacedrelation with the rotational axes thereof in the same plane and inintersecting angular relation so that the conveyor means are closesttogether at one point and farthest apart at another polnt;

(0) means for synchronously driving said conveyor means in the samedirection;

(0!) an elongated bobbin on which yarn is normally wound in a pluralityof overlapping layers and positioned closely adjacent the point offarthest separation of said conveyor means;

(2) means for driving said elongated bobbin; and

(f) a plurality of spaced guide members on each of said conveyor meansprojecting into the space therebetween, the guide members on oneconveyor means arranged in staggered relation to guide members on theother conveyor means, whereby said yarn moving from the source thereofis carried by said guide members in a progressively Widening zig-zagpath between the point of closest separation of said conveyor means andthe point of farthest separation of said conveyor means where the yarnleaves said guide members alternately from one conveyor means and thenthe other and traverses across the bobbin as the yarn is being woundtherearound.

2. Yarn winding apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pair of conveyor meansare a pair of belts.

3. Yarn winding apparatus of claim 1 wherein the said guide members areequi-spaced on each of the conveyor means.

4. Yarn Winding apparatus of claim 1 wherein the said guide members arepositioned in unequal distances on the pair of conveyor means to preventribboning of the yarn being wound on the bobbin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. YARN WINDING AND TRAVERSING APPARATUS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A)A SOURCE OF YARN SUPPLY; (B) A PAIR OF ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEANS ROTATABLYSUPPORTED IN SPACED RELATION WITH THE ROTATIONAL AXES THEREOF IN THESAME PLANE AND IN INTERSECTING ANGULAR RELATION SO THAT THE CONVEYORMEANS ARE CLOSEST TOGETHER AT ONE POINT AND FARTHEST APART AT ANOTHERPOINT; (C) MEANS FOR SYNCHRONOUSLY DRIVING SAID CONVEYOR MEANS IN THESAME DIRECTION; (D) AN ELONGATED BOBBIN ON WHICH YARN IS NORMALLY WOUNDIN A PLURALITY OF OVERLAPPING LAYERS AND POSITIONED CLOSELY ADJACENT THEPOINT OF FARTHEST SEPARATION OF SAID CONVEYOR MEANS; (E) MEANS FORDRIVING SAID ELONGATED BOBBIN; AND